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Friend,
Abortion has long been framed as a cultural, religious, or personal issue rather than a material “bread and butter” economic concern. However, research shows that access to abortion is fundamentally intertwined with economic progress and mobility.
The states banning abortion rights have, over decades, also intentionally constructed an economic policy architecture defined by weak labor standards, underfunded and purposefully dysfunctional public services, and high levels of incarceration.
States with abortion restrictions or total bans have on average:
- lower minimum wages ($8.17 compared with $11.92 in the abortion-protected states)
- unionization levels half as high as those in the abortion-protected states
- only three in 10 unemployed people receiving unemployment insurance (compared with 42% in other states)
- lower rates of Medicaid expansion
- an incarceration rate 1.5 times that of the abortion-protected states
Abortion access looms large as an issue of economic well-being since widespread abortion bans will contribute to a loss in economic security and independence for millions.
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